October 29, 2020

TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K. has received the 2020 Technology Award from the Catalyst Manufacturers Association,Japan, (CMAJ). The award was in recognition of the company’s joint development of a hydrophobic precious metal catalyst in collaboration with the National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology. Hitoshi Kubo, from TANAKA, and Yasunori Iwai, from QST, received the award and gave an acceptance speech at the 2020 CMAJ award ceremony, held online on October 14.

Examples of Hydrophobic Precious Metal Catalyst Products
The hydrophobic precious metal catalyst for which the Technology Award was received was developed through a collaboration between TANAKA and QST. It was developed as an ambient-temperature hydrogen oxidation technology for ITER and other nuclear fusion facilities. With its hydrophobicity enabling the catalytic reaction to be maintained even at ambient temperatures, it is used for hydrogen oxidation reactions. With conventional catalysts, moisture in the reaction gas and water vapor generated during reactions cover the catalyst surface and stop the catalytic reaction, so they must be heated to prevent the water vapor coating from occurring. Also, normal catalysts use plastic as the carrier, which makes them heat sensitive, causing combustion to occur as the temperature of the catalyst increases through the reaction.

20201029_TANAKA-Receives-2020-Technology-Award-from-Catalyst-Manufacturers-Association-Japan.pdf